Star Tribune
Fargo cop killed in shootout was a Minnesota native, new on the job
Jake Wallin didn’t want to find himself sitting in an office, wondering at the end of his workdays whether he’d made a difference.
To serve his community, the 23-year-old National Guard member and native of St. Michael, Minn., opted for a career in law enforcement.
On Friday, Wallin was killed in a shootout in Fargo that left two other officers wounded. A fourth officer killed the gunman.
Police have given few details about the shooting beyond saying there was no known motive. The Associated Press said Sunday that authorities released no new information, and the Star Tribune could not reach Wallin’s family for comment.
In an online video posted by police Saturday, Wallin talked about his motivation.
“Throughout my entire life I’ve always wanted to work in some sort of position that had purpose behind my job,” the young officer said. “Police officer is always what kind of came to me. I’ve tried other careers but I came right back into law enforcement.”
In a comment that likely referred to his service with the Minnesota National Guard, Wallin added: “I’m from St. Michael-Albertville, Minnesota, and I’ve been to more countries than I have been states.”
At a news conference Saturday, Fargo Police Chief David Zibolski said police and fire officials were responding to a “routine” traffic crash on a busy street Friday afternoon when a gunman opened fire on them. Authorities identified the shooter as Mohamad Barakat of Fargo.
Zibolski described the first few minutes of the shootout as “very chaotic.” He said firefighters and an ambulance crew were essential in preventing additional fatalities.
As soon as the firing stopped, he said, “firefighters bounced out, and they were applying first aid immediately to our officers.”
Zibolski said their quick work on the wounded men “probably had a very significant impact on their survival.”
The city has said little about Barakat or the gun he used. Zibolski said he believed police previously had contact with Barakat “but not anything significant.”
The chief said it does not appear that the gunman was involved in the crash that drew officers to the scene. But he indicated authorities were investigating whether the shooting was a planned ambush.
“The first thing we always want to know in a situation like this is, ‘Why?’ ” he said. “Why would somebody do this?”
Fargo police said Wallin became an officer on April 19 and was in field training at the time of death.
The North Wright County Today website reported that Wallin was a 2018 graduate of St. Michael-Albertville High School, where he played linebacker on the football team. He later graduated from Alexandria Technical and Community College and attended the American Military University.
The Minnesota National Guard said in a statement that Wallin began serving in December 2017 as a cannon crewman and was deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq from November 2020 to July 2021.
“The citizen soldiers and airmen of the Minnesota National Guard extend our deepest condolences to the family members and friends of Sgt. Jake Wallin,” said its adjutant general, Army Maj. Gen. Shawn Manke. “He lived a life of service — not only to his state and nation but his community.”
At Saturday’s news conference, Zibolski called for a moment of silence to honor Wallin.
“He was a member of our family. He meant a lot to the department,” the chief said.
Shortly after the shooting, authorities, including FBI agents, converged on a residential area about 2 miles away and evacuated residents of an apartment building to gather what they said was related evidence.
Officer Tyler Hawes, who was wounded in the shootout, attended the University of Minnesota Morris and was Wallin’s classmate in the Fargo Police Academy. They became officers on the same day and were training with six-year veteran Andrew Dotas when they responded to Friday’s crash.
On Saturday, Hawes and Dotas were reported in critical but stable condition. Zibolski said they were in “good spirits” but had significant recovery ahead of them.
No updates on their conditions were provided Sunday.
A fourth officer, Zach Robinson, shot and killed Barakat, Zibolski said. A 25-year-old bystander also was injured in the shooting, though authorities haven’t said who shot her. A hospital spokesman said Sunday that she was in fair condition.
In the video posted by Fargo police, Wallin displayed an easy smile that suggested the sense of humor his police chief referenced during the new conference Saturday.
The young officer said his desire to serve came from wanting “to have purpose behind my job each and every day. … I want to be doing something that I can tell myself at the end of the day I made a difference somehow.”
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum has ordered that flags be flown at half-staff on the day of Wallin’s funeral, which has yet to be announced.
This article contains information from the Associated Press.
When the Minnesota Supreme Court this week declined to hear an appeal by the University of St. Thomas regarding the environmental impact of its new hockey/basketball arena under construction, neighbor and arena foe Dan Kennedy said the “ethical” thing for the university to do was stop construction until neighbor concerns are addressed.
Not going to happen, university officials said Thursday.
While a public review of a revised Environmental Assessment Worksheet continues through Nov. 7, construction of the 5,000-seat Lee and Penny Anderson Arena continues. In an e-mail Thursday, a university spokesman said the arena is expected to be completed in fall 2025.
“The University of St. Thomas is aware of the Minnesota Supreme Court’s decision to deny its petition to appeal and is reviewing the potential impacts of this decision,” an emailed statement from St. Thomas said. “Last week, the City of St. Paul published an updated EAW for public comment, and that process will continue. Construction of the Lee & Penny Anderson Arena will also continue, as permitted by law.”
But Kennedy said he believes that decision is not only wrong, but illegal. Because the state Court of Appeals this summer ruled the project’s first environmental review was inadequate, its site plans and building permits are invalid, said the president of Advocates for Responsible Development.
“We need somebody to specifically tell the University of St. Thomas that they must comply with the law,” Kennedy said. “This is an institution of higher learning, with a law school. They should comply with the law.”
Kennedy said he thought the Minnesota Court of Appeals had insisted on exactly that. In August, the appellate court ordered the city and university to conduct a new Environmental Assessment Worksheet. The previous assessment didn’t do enough to study the arena’s potential harm to the neighborhood’s parking, traffic and air quality, the court ruled.
“The reason why is that more sunlight in the morning time helps reinforce waking up, and having less light in the evening is less stimulation,” he said. “So when we’re winding down, preparing for sleep, having fewer hours of sunlight in the evening can help promote that process of falling asleep.”
Akingbola acknowledges that it can be sad to walk out of work or school when it’s already dark out, but in the long run, standard time is the way to go.
The U.S. already tried daylight savings year round in 1974
Despite the medical advice, there have been calls in recent years to make daylight savings time permanent.
Sen. Mary Kiffmeyer, R-Big Lake, tried to pass a bill as recently as 2021 to make daylight savings time permanent, but it did not pass the Legislature.
The U.S. tried once before. According to Minnesota Star Tribune archives, due to an energy crisis, President Richard Nixon passed a law in January 1974 that made daylight savings a year-round thing.
A month into it, the Minneapolis Tribune ran an article saying there were calls to reverse the decision because there were more accidents in the pre-dawn darkness, particularly involving school children waiting for the bus. Under daylight savings time in January, sunrise wasn’t until well after 8 a.m. in Minnesota.
Karl-Anthony Towns may be in New York City, but his heart is in Minnesota.
On Wednesday night, Towns had some sweet seats for a Billie Eilish show at Madison Square Garden with his partner, Jordyn Woods, when she caught him watching the Timberwolves play the Chicago Bulls in a preseason game on his phone. Her video, posted to her Instagram story, made rounds on social media Thursday.
In the video, flames are literally spewing out from Eilish’s stage, lights are flashing all around and others in the crowd are head bobbing. And there is Towns, holding his phone in both hands and muttering to himself as the Timberwolves are down 88-75 late in the third quarter in a meaningless game.
“I promise he was enjoying the concert,” Woods wrote in the video’s caption.
The Wolves would go on to lose that game, 125-123. A nail-biter.
Towns’ trade to the New York Knicks for Julius Randle and others stunned the NBA world and all of Minnesota, where he was a beloved player for nine seasons and a leader on a team rapidly ascending toward championship contention.
“It was a lot of emotions,” Towns said. “Some amazing moments and times in nine years of my life in Minnesota, a place that I’ve called home. Guys who are not just teammates to me but brothers. We were like brothers. It definitely was a wild day, definitely coming to work.”
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